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Team India Plays Football Barefoot at Dhaka

Cricketers of team India came back on the field after a day’s rest, however this time they returned for a game of football. Reports suggest that the players were made to play the game barefoot. Many people believed that it was a bad decision to ask the players to play football like that. The reason – a big game of ICC Twenty20 semi-final against South Africa is set for Friday.

The players and members of the coaching staff entered the field bare feet and played for an hour at the Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy ground.

According to India Today, the players were asked to play the game without shoes. Virat Kohli entered the field wearing shoes. Outside the field Stuart Binny was tying the laces of his second shoe and this was when Shikhar Dhawan came up to him and asked to get rid of them.

Indian team used to play kho-kho before the matches and practice sessions. However, this practice was scraped from the schedule after Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma sustained injuries in 2006 and 2010.

“Trainer Sudarshan VP wanted the boys to play barefoot. There’s no reason that I can give you,” R.N. Baba, team manager said.

“We [Pakistani team] used to play barefoot often. They play barefoot so as to escape injuries through shoe spikes,” Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistani pacer said to MAIL TODAY.

Debashis Chowdhury, chief medical officer of the Bangladesh Cricket Board mentioned some of the advantages of running barefoot.

“Playing or running barefoot on uneven terrain activates the foot bones and they become functional, something that they don’t when you run with your shoes on because then the muscles become dormant.”